From the Director

From the time I attended a very small high school on the Oregon coast, I knew that college could be important, perhaps even life-changing. I just didn’t know how to make it happen.

I still remember vividly the excitement of receiving my admissions letter in the mail. Even more than that, I remember the moment I opened up my financial aid award. I read it carefully, making sure it was real, and did the math quickly in my head. And I remember thinking, “I can do this. It’s possible. I have the money to go!”

So yes, financial aid was a big deal in the life of a small-town 17-year-old. Because up to that moment, I had thought my future was perhaps working in the local lumber mill. Although that was an honest, respectable job, I wanted to explore other possibilities.

College would be my way to a different life, and that financial aid letter promised to open new doors.

I’ve never forgotten how that moment, opening that aid letter, influenced what I do and who I am today. Because of it, I bring a different, profoundly grateful perspective to work. It’s a perspective I still want to pass along, wherever I go.

For people like me, and for others with even greater challenges, finances for a college education give us the opportunity to become fully what God intends. That’s why our SFS team works so hard to design a financial assistance package specifically for you — so you’re able to reach for your goals at SPU … and beyond.